Two Hearts

Skirmish

Aisuru stared down at the man snoring drunkenly in her bed. She usually had no ill will toward River, but tonight she hated him. Hated how loud he was. How he could make sound at all. Mostly she hated that he was in her bed, and that he wasn't Trafalgar Law.

She stood at the foot of the ornate four poster bed and screamed at him. Wordless, soundless. She screamed at the ceiling, balling her fists and letting the tears fall silently. 'All I wanted! Was to give Law something for trade!'

When she had nearly exhausted herself, Aisuru stepped into her bathroom. The floors were a soft gold, and the walls were pale pink. There was a small stand up shower in the corner, and a heated jet tub along the same wall. An array of product lined the bathroom counter, from shampoos to lubricants.

Aisuru found the facial scrub, and washed away the day. She wondered if her letter had been delivered. Had that woman even read it? Or believed it? The answer was probably 'no', since Jean hadn't said anything about it. It was best to give up hope that they were coming tonight.

She sighed, carefully removing her fragile costume. She couldn't afford to owe Mama Rose even one more bery. Hourly wages paid for the small apartment, until rent was accounted for. The rest, if there was any left, went towards the debt of the workers. Tips were theirs to keep, but most servers tried to put as much of those towards their debt as well. Aisuru had never known a woman who had been able to pay back her debt.

The Calm-calm fruit, worth ten million berry, had put Aisuru in mounds of debt to Mama Rose. She traded months of services at a time in order to pay the woman to protect the fruit she had stolen from Vergo's ship. She had no idea why, but she felt she needed to hold on to it. It was important.

Aisuru gripped the edge of the counter. 'Stupid!' she shrieked at herself. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' She stood there for a while, fully wearing herself out.

She turned the bathroom light off, returning to the side of the bed with a disdainful glare for River. With great reluctance, Aisuru undressed him. She piled his clothes on the floor, staging them to look as though they had been cast off in a hurry. It wouldn't do for him to wake up dressed, considering that sleep wasn't what he paid for.

She flicked the lights off, staring at the dark ceiling. 'Law,' she mouthed, 'i'm sorry.' She dragged herself under the blankets with the man who had paid for her time. The man who had to trade for her time.

With an ironic laugh that was half sob, Aisuru realized she understood why Law didn't like her idea of him trading for her attention.

~+~+~+~

"Heyyy, heyyyy! Aisuru! Aisuru! Hey!"

'Go away.' She scowled at the Sticky-sticky fruit eater as he circled her. He was, as always, in a blue robe, carrying his scepter. Snot dribbled everywhere as he spoke.

"Hey, hey!"

Trebol was supposed to be standing guard in the lobby, but he had decided to come bother her in her room instead. She tried to ignore him as she gathered her daytime attire, but he was very persistent.

"Aisuru, Aisuru! You know where Law is, don't you? Don't you? Huh?"

She flipped him off, pulling up her gold fishnet stockings with one hand.

He pressed as close as he could without actually touching her. "That's not nice, Aisuru. Aisuru! Hey, Hey. Is he on the island? Hmmm? Hummmn?"

"Trebol!" Mama rose stood in the doorway, filling the space with her squishy frame. "Go back downstairs this instant! Aisuru has a very important job today, and I don't want her pretty face marked with frown lines!"